


Love Struck

by brokenhighways



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shop, Community: cottoncandy_bingo, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-10
Updated: 2012-11-10
Packaged: 2017-11-18 09:19:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/559368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenhighways/pseuds/brokenhighways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen turns up his local coffee shop hung-over, new barista makes a special hangover cure and talks to him. It shouldn't be highlight of his week but it is. He finds himself there each week, hangover or no hangover. It’s kind of pathetic but Jensen’s kind of smitten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Struck

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: For the “hangover” square on my cottoncandy bingo card, and for ace_p as it’s her birthday <3
> 
> Thanks to Becky for the quick beta!

Jensen didn’t usually work on Sunday’s but he decided to go into his office anyway. The trouble with being a real estate agent was that there was always one person or couple who schedules a viewing at crazy-am every Monday. Usually, he’d have gone through them all on Friday but his best friend Danneel had broken up with her boyfriend last week, and she’d needed a pick me up. The problem with that was that it involved him spending the majority of the weekend drinking. So by the time Sunday had arrived, he was definitely feeling a little worse for wear.

“Wow,” the barista said as Jensen all but collapsed onto one of the trendy stools up by the counter. “You look like you’re not even awake yet.” The guy sounded far too chirpy for Jensen’s liking and he rested his head on the cool surface of the counter and groaned.

“Coffee,” he said meekly. “I need coffee.”  Normally, Jensen would be embarrassed by his behaviour. But right now the pounding of his head, his mouth was dry, everything was far too loud and the swirling nausea in his stomach ensured that he didn’t really give a flying fuck. The barista didn’t say anything but Jensen heard footsteps moving away. Idly, he wondered what kind of barista didn’t ask the customer what kind of coffee they wanted. Before he could start to answer his own question inside his head, there was a thud. He looked up and blinked at the tall glass that had been placed in front of him. It contained some sort of green liquid and Jensen recoiled in horror. Coffee wasn’t supposed to be green. Unless of course this was some sort of St Patricks Day thing. Except Jensen was pretty sure that St Patricks Day had been months ago. Hadn’t they just entered November?

“It’s not coffee,” The barista said and it sounded like he was laughing a little. Jensen did not like that at all. “It is a pretty good hangover cure though.” And hey, maybe Jensen could let the whole laughter thing go after all. He reached for the glass and started to gulp it down, not stopping until it was finished - he didn’t want to think about its appearance. In the end it didn’t taste too bad. In fact it didn’t really taste like anything.  Jensen’s head did start to clear up a little but it was still pretty foggy.

“Coffee,” he whimpered again and the barista laughed. Jensen tilted his head upwards to glare at the guy. He found himself looking at the hottest person that he’d ever seen.

“Drink this instead,” the guy said as he placed a small cup in front of Jensen. “It’s green tea – it’ll make you feel a lot better.”

Jensen wasn’t really sure what his response was.

\--

“—and he had these hazel-green eyes and—“

“He’s tall, hot and muscly and completely out of your league,” Danneel interrupted Jensen as they reclined in a booth at their regular drinking spot. “I know, you’ve only mentioned this mystery guy at least 10 times. At this point, I’m beginning to wonder if he’s just a figment on your imagination.” It was the following Saturday and Jensen was waxing lyrical about the coffee shop guy _again._ He was surprised that Danneel hadn’t started bitching about that yet.

“No, he’s real. 100% real.”

“So how come you can’t even tell me his name?” Danneel asked and Jensen shrugged as he signalled for another beer. “And don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Jensen turned to her and gave her a sheepish look.

“He made me his special hangover cure,” he said meekly. Predictably, that earned him an eye roll from Danneel.

“So you’ve decided to get yourself drunk just so you can talk to this mysterious tall guy?” Danneel said in disbelief. “Sure even you can realise how stupid that is.”

“You’re right!” Jensen said as an idea sprang to his mind. “I can just pretend to be hung-over! I’m gonna go get a Coke instead.” He could hear Danneel protesting loudly behind him as he made his way over the drinks counter. Jensen chose to ignore her.

\--

By the time Sunday came around, Jensen woke himself and forced himself to get up at some ungodly hour. He thought about shrugging on one of his work outfits but ended up in a black Henley and jeans instead. It’s not like he’d mentioned anything about working on Sundays to the tall guy. In fact he hadn’t said anything at all. Once he’d caught sight of those hazel-green eyes, that broad chest, bright smile, _the dimples_ and the wavy, longish brown hair that curled up at the guy’s nape – he’d frozen. The guy had tried to make conversation with Jensen but Jensen could only splutter and mumble in response. In the end, the guy had shot a dazzling smile Jensen’s way and moved on to serve the customers trickling through door.

Jensen was determined to make sure that their second conversation would actually consist of full sentences on his part. He found himself back at the coffee shop – which was called _Ground_ – at around midday. There were two or three people sitting at a couple of the tables. The tall guy was standing behind the counter as he tapped away at his phone. The second Jensen pushed the door open, the phone disappeared and the guy looked up. His face lit up as Jensen approached the counter.

“Well look who it is,” he said as Jensen hopped onto a stool. “How’s your head today?”

“Not quite as foggy as it was last week,” Jensen replied and the guy laughed.

“I think that’s the first full sentence I’ve heard you say!” Jensen almost smiled back until he realised that he was supposed to be hung-over. He faked a wince and rubbed at his temple. Tall guy seemed to take the hint and he disappeared into the back room and re-emerged with a glass of the green liquid. Jensen gulped it down quickly, smiling a little as the guy watched him curiously.

“Thanks,” he said as he set the glass down on the counter. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“No problem,” the guy replied. “So…you got a name?”

“Jensen.”

“I’m Jared,” Jared said. “Do you usually get drunk every weekend or are you going through some sort of life crisis?”

“My friend just broke up with her boyfriend,” Jensen answered. “I’ve been helping her deal with it.” It wasn’t really a lie. That was how all of this had come to be. Sort of. Anyway, it’s not like Jared had to know the truth.

“Ah,” Jared said with a nod. He gave Jensen an apologetic smile as he moved away to serve other customers and Jensen sighed to himself.

\--

“I might have to put my hangover cure on the menu,” Jared said on the third Sunday that Jared showed up. “At least I’d be making money out of you that way.” It only then occurred to Jensen that he’d never actually paid for anything he’d had ever since he first saw Jared. He reached into his jacket and pulled out of his wallet.

“Here,” he said as he held out a fistful of bills towards Jared. Jared’s face dimmed a little and his frowned. Jensen lowered his hand sheepishly.

“It was a joke,” Jared said eventually. “I think I have a right to not charge my favourite customer.”

“What about your boss?” Jensen asked. “Won’t they mind?”

“Nah, but then again, that’s the perk of being your own boss.”

_Oh._

Before Jensen could reply Jared had gone.

\--

Week four. Jensen had just survived through an extra hellish week at work and he took great pleasure in offloading all of his complaints on Jared. But only after his weekly serving of Jared’s green hangover cure. It’d been a long six days of showing this one particular couple about fifty different houses. Okay, so maybe that was an exaggeration but still. While Jensen prided himself on his excellent customer service, it usually helped if they weren’t so hot and cold. He didn’t mention anything specific, just enough for Jared to get that he’d been thoroughly annoyed by his clients being too indecisive.

“You know, you haven’t actually told me what it is that you do,” Jared said in an amused tone once Jensen had finished his epic rant. It was another Sunday afternoon, and Jensen was on his usual stool. Jared was looking extra delectable today in his tight, plain white t-shirt and Jensen had no intention of going anywhere for the next couple of hours. According to Danneel, Jensen’s behaviour was kind of pathetic. According to him, nothing else mattered so long as he got his Jared fix each week. Danneel might have thought that it was lame, but to Jensen it was practically a necessity. Which probably sounded of creepy and stalkerish, but whatever. It’s not like he followed Jared home or anything.

“I’m a real estate agent,” Jensen said once he realised that Jared was looking at him expectantly. “If you’re ever looking to buy some property in this area, I’m your man.”

“Right,” Jared said with one of those laughs that Jensen had begun to find ridiculously hot. It sounded kind of weird in his head though, so he hadn’t mentioned that detail to Danneel. Most of their conversations these days ended with her laughing manically at him and his idiocy.

“I mean, I can help you find something,” Jensen said. “Not that I’m your man, like…boyfriends or something. I wasn’t hitting on you.” Jensen could feel his face flushing as Jared raised one of his eyebrows and smirked at Jensen. Of course, all Jensen could really think about in that moment was that Jared’s smirk was kind of sexy. If anything, it was almost as though Jared was flirting with him.

Naturally, that revelation was the reason why Jensen decided to bolt.

\--

“Why don’t you just ask him out?” Danneel said, as she lounged around on the couch in Jensen’s office. She’d stopped by to have lunch and according to her, Jensen had been tuned into Jared FM – _again_. “You’re driving me nuts, hon.”

“I can’t just walk in there and ask him out,” Jensen replied around bites of his sandwich. “Besides, it’s not like I have to time to date. I’m pretty swamped here as it is, in fact, I have an appointment in about…ten minutes.”

“Is that my cue to leave?” Danneel asked. “Because I’ve been waiting for it for about twenty minutes now - right about the time when you started telling me about how you wanted to lick Jared’s dimples.”

There was a knock on the door before Jensen could answer and he glanced at his watch again. He yelled for the person to come in and his assistant, Katie, popped her head in and said,

“Jensen, your two o’clock appointment is here.” He nodded as he discarded the rest of his sandwich and wiped his mouth down quickly. Jensen looked up to find Danneel staring at him shrewdly. He gave her a questioning look but she didn’t say anything.

As he was escorting her outside, he stopped at the reception and found himself gaping at the tall man standing by Katie’s desk. The man turned and Jensen was faced with Jared’s dazzling, bright smile once again.

“Jared!” Jensen said and he saw Danneel stop in her tracks through the corner of his eyes. ‘ _That’s Jared?’_ she mouthed and Jensen tried to nod discreetly. Jared must have tracked the move, however because he turned around. Danneel’s face quickly morphed into a bright smile, and as Jared turned back to Jensen, she mouth “ _Call me”_ and then left finally.

“Was that your girlfriend?” Jared asked friendly and Jensen blinked. Jared frowned when Jensen didn’t answer right away.

“Oh! Oh right, no. She’s the best friend,” Jensen said, ignoring the all too amused look on Katie’s face as she sat behind her desktop computer. “There’s no girl. Or guy.”

“Okay,” Jared says with another laugh, though it was gentler this time.  Jensen could have sworn that there was something in the other man’s eyes. However, his work mode kicked in pretty soon after that and he ushered Jared into his office.

“So, what can I do for you today?” He asked and Jared grinned at him.

“I’m looking to buy a house in this area,” he says. “And someone told me that you’re the man to see.”

\--

The following, Sunday, Jared had the hangover concoction in a glass on the counter before Jensen even arrived. Jensen wanted to comment on whether or not that was even hygienic but he trusted Jared. He was 99.9% sure that it wouldn’t poison him or anything. This changed as he swallowed it down. It tasted horrible and Jensen grimaced as he put the glass down and wiped at his mouth.

“What the hell is in that?” he said bitterly. “That’s not the normal hangover magic potion that you give me.”

“The recipe changed?” it sounded more like a question, and Jensen only then noticed the mischievous glint in Jared’s eye. “You know at this point, you’re usually whimpering for coffee and generally incoherent.”

“You know don’t you?” Jensen said sadly.

“About you faking the hangovers?” Jared replied. “Yep. Your acting skills could do with a bit of work, but it was entertaining to watch nonetheless”. He’s openly grinning at Jensen and Jensen supposes that it’s a better reaction than what he’d been expecting.

“So why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was curious,” Jared admitted. “I’ve never had anyone fake a hangover each week just to talk to me. At first I thought you were kind of crazy. But you seemed normal when I came by your office.”

“Oh,” Jensen said meekly. “So I guess that a date with you is out of the question then?” Jared laughed again as Jensen’s face flushed. He was pretty sure that he hadn’t meant to say that. Jared didn’t look too horrified at the thought so maybe – just maybe, Jensen had a chance.

“Well, I can’t say no now, can I?” Jared said. “But you’re paying for dinner and, I might even let you lick my dimples.” He smiled across at Jensen and held up a finger to indicate that he’d be back in second. Jensen stared at Jared’s retreating figure and wondered what the hell had just happened. What did Jared mean by that dimples comment? The only person Jensen had mentioned that to was…Danneel.

Before he could start panicking Jared re-emerged. He placed a cupcake down in front of Jensen,

“Your friend took the liberty of ordering this when she was here.” Jensen looked down at the pink frosted cupcake and frowned as he read the message that’d been iced on. _‘Call me’ means CALL ME._

That bitch, Jensen thought. He was going to kill her and then dig a hole in the ground and fall into it.

\--

Two months later, Jensen found himself back at _Ground_ in his usual spot. He was supposed to be meeting Jared (and his best friend) here but Jared was running late. So he found himself watching the guy at the end of the counter.

“Coffee,” the guy whimpered. It was eerily reminiscent of Jensen and his pathetic behaviour and he was too busy being mortified at himself – again – to find the situation amusing. The barista on duty, Sophia, was not amused either, judging by the scowls and dark looks that she was aiming in the guy’s direction. Jensen snorted to himself as he remembered how Jared had been all smiles and friendly.

“I’m a real estate agent,” The guy was saying when tuned back in. “If you give me your number I could probably get a good deal on an apartment somewhere?” Jensen grimaced to himself as Sophia groaned and yelled that she was taking her break. She’d been the only one on duty seeing as how it was quiet. Jensen couldn’t just leave the till unmanned, so he walked over to the counter entrance and moved behind it. The guy sat up and started tapping away at his phone and Jensen frowned.

“I owe my friend 20 bucks,” The guy started saying as if they were midway through a conversation. “He told me that the fake hangover thing wouldn’t work for me. I’m Chad, by the way.”

“He did?” Jensen asked slowly as the pieces began to fit together one by one.

“Yup,” The guy said. “That’s how he and his boyfriend got together, y’know? So I was thinking that there at least a 70% chance of it working out. But my friend – Jared – was all like, the fake hangovers weren’t what brought him together and some stupid mushy crap like that.”

“Like what?” Jensen couldn’t help asking.

“Shit like how, it was the fact that his boyfriend was willing to make the effort, and quote “too adorable for him not to give him a chance” and how original it was. He spent weeks going on about before the dude finally manned up and asked him out.”

“Is his boyfriend a real estate agent too?” Jensen asked, trying to keep as much innocence is his tone as possible.

“Yeah,” Chad said. “I probably should have tweaked the whole speech a little but whatever, if it worked for that guy, then I can _definitely_ pull it off. I have a 100% success rate.”

“In what?”

“Getting attention.” Jensen started to laugh loudly at that until he realised that Chad was being serious. His laughter died down quickly as the back door slammed shut, indicating that Sophia had returned.

“Thanks Jensen,” she said and the way that Chad’s mouth dropped open was almost comical. Jensen was soon distracted though, when a tall shadow appeared behind him. He turned around to face Jared, smiling up at his boyfriend’s face as he approached the counter.

“Dude, you should have said that you were Jared’s boyfriend,” Chad exclaimed. “I could have asked you for some pointers.” Jared shook his head fondly, before leaning over to capture Jensen’s mouth, not caring that Chad was right there. It was just a chaste, soft kiss but Chad still grumbled loudly and Jared laughed again. Jensen kind of loved the way, his eyes lit up and his entire body vibrated with laughter.

“Please don’t start licking his dimples in public,” Chad said as he eyed Jensen suspiciously. “People are trying to eat.”

Jared shot Jensen a worried look, like he wasn’t sure that Jensen was okay with him telling Chad about all of that. In truth, he didn’t really mind. They’d only been together two months but this was shaping up to be one of the best relationships he’d had. Jared was smart, kind, funny and not to mention smoking hot. Hell, it was worth it even if he would have to put up with Chad.

So in a way, it turned out that the hangover from hell had been the best thing to ever happen to him.

 

 


End file.
